1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to high water base emulsifiable fluids, particularly oil-in-water emulsions containing in addition to the usual prior art emulsifiers, a co-emulsifier system consisting of alkanol amines and/or heterocyclic amines or mixtures thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of oil-in-water emulsion fluids as lubricants in industrial applications as, for example, hydraulic fluids, is known. In these fluids water is the continuous phase and the "oil" is in the dispersed phase. Further, the term oil is not limited to its usual meaning, but may include non-oil components, such as chemical additives, to the exclusion of oil in the dispersed phase.
High water content fluids (HWCF) of the type disclosed herein are usually prepared with various ratios of soft (distilled) water and oil or chemical concentrates. Many of these fluids, however, are unstable if modified, or if unmodified natural water instead of soft water is used. Their stability is affected by the ionic activity of salts present in hard water. Chelating agents have been used in the prior art as one means to overcome this problem. A new emulsifier system has now been developed which makes it possible for high water content fluids to remain stable under the most severe hard water conditions.